Automakers sold 10 times more passenger cars in China than in India last year, reflecting the speed at which the world’s largest vehicle market is racing ahead of its rivals.
China car sales rose 16 per cent year on year to 18m units in 2013, compared with an almost 10 per cent drop in India to 1.8m units. The annual decline, reported yesterday by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, was the first for India’s auto market in 11 years.
The surprise acceleration in Chinese car sales, announced by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, contrasts sharply with other major markets as well. According to initial estimates, US car sales expanded 8 per cent to 15.6m vehicles last year after double-digit growth in 2012. Brazil’s car market, the world’s fourth largest, last year reported its first annual decline in a decade.